The present invention relates to an automated packaging machine and a method for producing vacuumized and sealed packages and more particularly, to a machine and a method for packaging poultry products.
Automated machines for packaging poultry products such as Cornish hens are known in the art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,221,106 and 4,270,336, both to Altenpohl et al., illustrate a plural station bagging system for poultry. In this system, poultry is releasably suspended from a conveyor and is distributed amongst a plurality of stations along a travel path of the conveyor. The bird released from the conveyor is guided into bags which are opened by a nozzle assembly that effects limited expansion of each bag in advance of the entry of each bird into the bag. A ram packs each bird fully into the bag, resulting in tight fit packaging upon withdrawal of the ram and the nozzle assembly from the bag as it is detached and dropped onto a receiving surface.
Another machine for bagging poultry products is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,989 to Andrews. This machine is a stretch bagging apparatus of the type having a reciprocable table top. The machine includes a pair of transversely extensible horns which are advanced axially into an open ended bag supported upon a bag elevator. After the horns advance into the bag, they are transversely extended so as to stretch the bag sides during filling of the bag. After the bag is filled with a chicken or the like, a carriage supporting the table top is axially retracted. This machine is characterized by the provision of a longitudinally reciprocable table top which supports and axially advances both the article being bagged and the transversely extensible horns. The bag elevator includes a pivoted hocking plate valving mechanism which enables the operator to override the packaging system by pushing the filled bag against the hocking plate.
Yet another machine for loading poultry into bags is sold by Artran of Springdale, Ark. The Artran machine can automatically load sixty birds per minute into plastic bags.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,263 to Andrews describes an apparatus for packaging poultry in which a chicken carcass is stuffed into a stretch plastic bag. After the carcass has been inserted into the bag with the hocks in an unbroken condition, the hocks are broken by a pusher.
Machines such as the Artran machine and the others described hereinbefore typically have no provision for vacuumizing and sealing the bags after they have been loaded with the birds. As a result, additional machinery and manual labor has to be provided to convey the bagged birds to one or more stations where the bag with the bird therein is vacuumized and then sealed.